CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 11: In a major universal jurisdiction trial, an Argentinian judge has requested the arrest of Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo, and a battery of top Nicaraguan officials implicated in hundreds of killings and other 2018 state crimes against humanity.

Two-thirds of the big business-friendly Guatemalan Congress approved an anti-monopoly law that was a priority of President Bernardo Arévalo, amid debates over whether the new rules will curb market concentration or provide insider loopholes.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights sets regional precedent by condemning the Salvadoran state for “obstetric violence” by denying Beatriz a therapeutic abortion in 2013 — but stops short of naming the state responsible for the woman’s 2017 death.

El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.

Help fund independent journalism in Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 10: In 2024, Bernardo Arévalo failed to remove the Guatemalan attorney general from office, the Salvadoran press published evidence that Nayib Bukele’s family is acquiring significant assets, and Central American leaders eyed Donald Trump’s return for political gain.

In 2025, U.S. immigrants’ organizations plan to again turn to religious organizations to fight Trump deportations and expect DACA to eventually be struck down. In Central America, Nayib Bukele expresses interest in pursuing the press and the November elections will test Xiomara Castro’s democratic commitment.

El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.

Help fund independent journalism in Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra this year at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MINUTES, Ep. 9: The Salvadoran Court of Accounts planned to let Agriculture Minister Pablo Anliker off the hook for $60 million in Covid-19 fraud while ordering six of his subordinates to repay the money from contracts he signed.

After three years of negotiations, El Salvador secures a $1.4 billion debt refinancing lifeline from the IMF and stands to obtain more from other financiers — in exchange for rolling back plans for Bitcoin, which will no longer be legal tender.

The Nicaraguan Central Bank pushes to de-dollarize to increase monetary control, decreeing that most goods and services be quoted in córdobas. The regime, close to BRICS nations China and Russia, has criticized the “global dictatorship of the dollar.”

El Faro English translates Central America. Listen to Central America in Minutes every Friday on major podcast platforms.

Help fund independent journalism in Central America by joining our crowdfunding community at support.elfaro.net. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Our mantra this year at El Faro English is simple: Journalism must go on.